Antonio Gates’ injury feels “like a hot knife sticking in your foot”

Posted by Michael David Smith on November 30, 2010, 6:28 PM EDT

Through the first eight games of this season, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates was having what could have been the best year of his Hall of Fame-caliber career. And then Gates suffered an injury so painful that it hurt just to hear him describe it in an interview Tuesday on ESPN’s Jim Rome Is Burning.

“It hurts, man,” Gates told Rome. “It hurts. It’s painful. I can’t really put into words the kind of pain that it feels — it feels like burning, like a hot knife sticking in your foot. It burns real bad.”

Ouch.

After catching 40 passes for 663 yards and nine touchdowns in the first eight games of the season, Gates missed two games after tearing the plantar fascia on his right foot on October 31 against the Titans. Since then he’s missed two games and caught just four passes for 46 yards in the one game he played.

Gates told Rome he’s been struggling to deal with the pain.

“That’s my judgment, week to week, is just, Can I deal with the pain tolerance over a substantial amount of time, through four quarters?” Gates said. “If I can’t contribute in a way which will help our team, then I won’t go.”

Even at less than 100 percent, Gates can still help the Chargers, which is why he was on the field Sunday night against the Colts. But he’s helping the Chargers while causing himself a lot of pain.

Eric Shelton Seeking Highest Level of Disability Benefits —
Mon Nov 29, 2010 –Associated Press
AP reports former Panthers/Redskins RB Eric Shelton is suing the NFL’s pension plan, saying he should receive the highest level of disability benefits because of a spine injury from a helmet-to-helmet hit that ended his career. The complaint filed on behalf of Shelton in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Monday asks that he receive $18,670 a month — nearly $225,000 a year — in pension benefits, instead of the $9,167 a month — about $110,000 annually — that he was awarded by the plan in August after going through an appeals process. Shelton, now 27, was drafted by Carolina in the second round out of Louisville in 2005. He signed with Washington in January 2008, then was hurt during an intrasquad scrimmage at Redskins training camp in July 2008, and waived less than a week later.

$18,670 a month — nearly $225,000 a year is ridiculous. The players keep saying that they deserve their crazy contract money because of injuries latter on after football. Now we see that after the NFL, they are still making more than 90% of working Americans if they are hurt. All of the top professional sports vastly overpay the players.

The players keep saying that they deserve their crazy contract money because of injuries latter on after football. Now we see that after the NFL, they are still making more than 90% of working Americans if they are hurt. All of the top professional sports vastly overpay the players.

No, the players get paid well because their efforts make the leagues so much money. The NFL takes in BILLIONS every year on the sweat of its players. As a result, those players deserve to be paid for the value of their work, and deserve to be insured in case of debilitating injury or disability, which is always a risk when playing. This is basic economics.

Gates being out there at 50% is still better than 90% of the TE’s in the NFL at 100%.

He’s a decoy if he can even appear like he can catch a ball down the middle, which opens up everything else for the Chargers WR’s, including Vincent Jackson once he takes that pacifier out of his mouth and man’s up a bit.

That being said, Gates better be careful to not turn this injury into a visit to the IR before the playoffs, because given the Chargers recent history they’ll need everyone on deck to avoid another early exit into the sunset.

“That being said, Gates better be careful to not turn this injury into a visit to the IR before the playoffs, because given the Chargers recent history they’ll need everyone on deck to avoid another early exit into the sunset.”

Doctors have told him that the injury cannot get worse from playing on it. It certainly won’t get better without rest, but it’s all about pain tolerance.

For everyone here that is saying they have had plantar fasciitis, I sympathize. From what I have heard from people I know who have had it, the pain is excruciating.

Having said that, reports claim that Gates torehis plantar fascia, which I’m sure must be even more painful than what you went through.

plantar fasciaitis is no joke and it will linger for MONTHS if not YEARS. I spent the last 2 years of my military career with it, still have it though it comes and goes. You stretch it out and feel sorta good to go. Then go for a run or play sports and the next day when you stand up I describe it as an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. Hot knife sounds about right 6 months of rehab for me and nothing,but I didnt get injections like these guys do. He must feel like 11 out of 10 after playing a game with pain injections if thats what he does.

AG,
you are a GLADIATOR. Gladiators dont feel pain. Keep your head up and you will have a ring before you know it!
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Another ring for the Chargers!